Pompeo says he's 'confident' there will be a third North Korea summit

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Friday he is “confident” the United States will hold another summit with North Korea to further denuclearization talks, a follow-up to President Donald Trump’s fruitless meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in February.

"I am confident there will be" a third summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un, Pompeo said Friday in response to a question from "CBS This Morning" anchor Norah O'Donnell. The secretary of State was quick to add that he did not know when such a summit might occur.

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“We came out of Hanoi with a deeper understanding of each other,” he continued. “The positions that the two sides had, the two leaders were able to make progress in that respect. We didn’t get as far as the world is demanding. These are global sanctions that are on North Korea today.”

Trump and Kim appeared on the cusp of signing an agreement on some incremental nuclear disarmament vows in February, but scuttled those plans last minute, when the two sides could not find compromise. At their meeting in Vietnam, Kim had sought full relief from U.S. sanctions in return for partial steps toward denuclearization, an agreement Trump and the U.S. delegation declined to accept, ending the summit hours earlier than expected.

The diplomatic strikeout was a blow to Trump’s foreign policy agenda, robbing him of a major deal he had predicted would emerge.

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Pompeo on Friday said he is not disappointed by the outcome of the second summit, acknowledging leaders always hope for quicker, better progress.

“We’re determined. I’m convinced the North Koreans are determined as well,” he said. “Chairman Kim has promised me, he’s promised President Trump, he will denuclearize. Now it’s the mission of my team to make sure that that happens.”

The secretary of State maintained that the United States and the United Nation Security Council would not lift sanctions on North Korea until complete denuclearization is achieved, a point of dispute that sunk the Hanoi talks.

Diplomatic channels remain open between the United States and North Korea, and between North and South Korea, Pompeo said. Trump will host South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the White House next week to discuss North Korean nuclear diplomacy on the same day Kim delivers an annual address to his country.